Liquid atomizer and diffuser



Aug 14, 1945.

v. A. TRIER I LI QUID' ATOMIZER AND DIFFUSER Filed June 22, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug; 14, 1945. v. A. TRIER LIQUID ATOMIZER AND DIFFUSER Filed June 22, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 it (arrays ,Iizventoh rB. rm/am. 729/426 dmza,

v. TRIER I LIQUID ATOMIZER AND DIFFUSER Filed June 22, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- LIQUID ATOMIZER AND DIFFUSER Vernon Anthony Trier, London, England Application June 22, 1944, Serial No.- 541,580

10 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 451,926 filed July 22, 1942, which has become, and now stands, abandoned.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in such operations as the sterilisation of the atmosphere of enclosed spaces, for example air raid shelters, sick rooms, hospital wards, school rooms, oflices, domestic premises and the like, or the destruction of insect pests, involving the discharge into the atmosphere of anaerosol of a liquid having the necessary properties for the purposes of the operation, it being understood that by an aerosol, as the term is used herein,

is meant a suspension of the liquid sufiiciently becomes overcharged with the aerosol at the ex- 9 pense of another part more distant therefrom, at any rate until such time as the aerosol has had an opportunity of diffusing itself evenly throughout the space to be treated. In addition, (I

inconvenience may be caused to the operator of the apparatus owing to an overconcentration of the aerosol in the immediate neighbourhood of the apparatus.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved form of apparatus of the description Y referred to which will be free from this disadvantage and will at the same time possess the necessary requisites for a really useful and'satisfactory machine having in view the following considerations. Firstly, an apparatus for use in sterilising the atmosphere of, say, a hospital ward or an ofiice or a room of a private house should be light and easily portable. It should also be capable of use by a person substantially unskilled in the handling and operation of mechanical devices, since in many cases the person called upon to use the apparatus will be a person in this category. It should also be capable of use in situations devoid of an electricity supply or other source of mechanical power, since even at the present time there are many possible situations of use of an apparatus of this description which are totally devoid of such a source of power, for example hospitals, schools and the like in the country. It should also be relatively cheap to produce and it should be durable and fool-proof.

With these special considerations in mind, in conjunction with the general object 0f-the invention as stated above, the invention provides a portable self-contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, comprising a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomisingunit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a; supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size suiiiciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; an airpump connectedto the atomising unit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation; a blower connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative todeliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle effective to project the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, and a manual means common to-the air pump and the blower: for operating the same. In the present specification and the claims'appended hereto, I employ the term manual to designate foot as well as hand operation.--'

It is found that such an apparatuseminently meets the object in view in this invention as set forth above, particularly if, as is preferred; the a r pump of the machine is a pump of the pistons and-barrel type and the bloweris a bellows or a large-diameter, short-stroke piston-and-barrel device, as with such a pump it is readily possible to provide a supply of air at the requisite pressure for the operation of the atomising unit'and with such a piston-and-barrel device it is readily possible to produce the necessary large volume of air for the purposes of the air blast with a relatively small'operative stroke of the blower and a correspondingly slow rate "of operation thereof; also a bellows and similarly, a pistonand-barrel device of the character describedis inherently a light form of rnechanismfor the purpose in hand and; moreover, is cheap to produce, requires little if any attention to maintain it. in working orderand has a long useful life-a-ll essential attributes from the point of view of the requirements of a machine to satisfy the object in view in this invention.

According to a generally preferred-form of the invention, hereinafter more particularlyildescribed, the air pump is a long-stroke hand-operated pump of the piston-and-barreltype upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and

pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for swinging movement, variable (which term includes determinable) at the will of the operator, in a vertical plane as the pump is operated, and the blower is a bellows interposed between a stationary support on the stand and the barrel of the pump (or an arm thereon) so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump.

A principal advantage with such an arrangement is that assuming, as will generally be the case, the machine is designed to be worked upon the floor, the pump can be worked in the same way as a stirrup pump is worked, with one foot of the operator on the stand to keep the machine firmly down upon the floor and the handle of the pump gripped by the hand or hands and worked up and down at an easy rate-which, as is known, is an exceedingly simple and easily performed operation and one which does not quickly tire the operator. Moreover, theswinging movement of the pump in the machine which occasi-ons the operation of the bellows is more or less a natural accompaniment of the up and down movement of the pump handle, owing to the characteristic tendency for the hands in working the pump to follow a path of movement which has a forward and backward component as well as an upward and downward component, and in consequence the operator is largely relieved of having to work the pump in some special manner in order to operate the bellows at the same time. Furthermore, it is possible, by simply varying the amplitude of the strokes of swinging movement of the pump to vary the volume of the air blast as described, for example to suit the size of the room or other space to be steri1ised,whileif it should be desired tOtlCUt out the air blast entirely, this can be accomplished by simply refraining from swinging the pump as it is being worked.

The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a plan view of a' hand-operated apparatus;

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary enlarged views of the atomising unit and the pivoted end of the air pump, respectively;

Figures 5 and 6 are a side elevation and plan view respectively of another hand-operated apparatus; v

Figure '7 isa' side elevation of a foot-operated apparatus; and v Figure 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification hereinafter described.

Like reference numerals refer .to like parts in the various figures.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2', the apparatus shown in these figures comprises an atomising unit I, an air pump 2 for supplying air to the atomising unit'for its operation and a bellows 3 for producing an air blast as hereinbefore referredto.

These parts are mounted on a stand 4 which rests'on the floor and includes a portion 5 at the rear end upon which the operator rests one foot to hold the machine firmly down as it is being operated.

The pump 2 is pivotally mounted at 5 to the stand to swing backwardly and forwardly in a vertical plane towards and away from an upright 6 incorporated with the stand along with two side supports 1, 8 extending longitudinally thereof.

The atomising unit is carried'upon the structure comprising the uright B and the two side supports 1, 8, which structure carries also an air reservoir 9 interventing in the path of the air between the pump and the atomising unit.

The bellows intervenes between the barrel of the air pump and the hack of the upright 6 and is attached to both of these parts so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump about its pivot 5.

The atomising unit may be of anysuitable design. In the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, it comprises an atomising chamber II] in the lower part of which is placed a supply I l of liquid to be atomised'.

So positioned as to be above the surface level of this supply is a jet nozzle [2 drawing from the supply I I and delivering a jet of the liquid in extremely finely divided form onto a baille I 3 which serves to break up some of the larger droplets of the spray into smaller droplets and at the same time to precipitate others, which fall or flow back into the supply of liquid in the lower part of the chamber from which the liquid thus returned is eventually re-sprayed on to the bafile until the whole of the supply is used up.

The extremely fine mist or cloud. of lminute droplets of liquid flows upwardly in the chamber towards a discharge outlet I4 in the wall thereof atthe top of the chamber, which it leaves in a sensibly dry condition, that'is, substantially unaccompanied by droplets of a size large enough to render the mist wet, having been effectively stripped of droplets of such asize partly by the action of the'baflle I3 and partly by the action'of a second bafile l5 placed in the path of the mist between the first 'baflle and the outlet Hi. There may be any necessary number of bafiles in the chamber and these may be of any necessary form, according to requirements, it being essential for the purposes of the apparatus that the product issuing therefrom shall be an aerosol in the sense hereinbefore'defined unaccompanied by droplets of a size to render the product sensibly wet.

Also the spraying means may take any desired form. In the particular embodiment of the invention' shown, the jet nozzle constituting said means comprises a body I6 having an axial bore l1 extending completely through it and a radial bore l8 extending through the body from one side thereof to a point beyond the axial bore which it, therefore, intersects in the manner shown in the drawings. Extending into the axial bore is a small-diameter tube I9, the lower end of which dips into the supply of liquid in the lower part of the atomising chamber and is, of course, open thereto. The tube 19 extendsacross the bore l8 and terminates a little short of a spherical cavity 20 in the crown'thereof. The bore I8 is of larger diameter than. the bore I! so as to provide a cavity 2| surrounding the end of the tube I '9 where this extends across the bore. This cavity 2| is supplied with air under pressure from the air pump 2 byway of the'a-ir reservoir 9 and connecting piping 22,- 23, the portion 22 of this piping'being flexible to accommodate the swinging movements of the pump and the portion 23 being connected to the body of the nozzle by a tubular connecting branch 24 screwed thereinto along the bore l8. The air on reaching the cavity 2| flows at high velocity into the spherical cavity 28' past the edge of the upper end of the tube l9 and thence out of the nozzle by way of the portion of the bore 18 leading from the cavity 20 to the surface of the nozzle. In doing so,'it draws liquid up the tube l9 and delivers it into the space above the nozzle as a finely divided jet. It is found that a nozzle of this particular description is eminently eflic'ient; As already remarked, however, any 'other construction may be employed without departure from the invention.

The air pump 2 is substantially of standard design. It comprises along barrel 25 in which works a piston 28 connected by a rod 21 to a handle 28. The barrel 25 is closed at the lower end by a dishshaped member 29 (see Figure 4) having on the underside a block 39 forming a bearing on the barrel for a'fiXed pivot pin' 3l on the stand 4. Projecting from the member 29 is a branch 32 in which is a port passage 33 controlled by a nonreturn b'all valve 34 and from which in turn is a tubular branch 35 communicating with the space behind the valve 34 and to which the piping 22 is connected. The'pump is a single-acting. force pump, the upward strokes being non-working strokes and the downward strokes working (compression) strokes, forcing the air pastthe valve 34 to the reservoir 9 and thence to the jet nozzle of the'atomising unit.

The bellows 3 is alsoof standard construction. It comprises a pair of end members 36, 3'! in which respectively are an inlet flap valve38 and an outlet flap valve 39, and an intervening collapsible wall 49 connected to the end members. The valve 38 controls a port 4! in free communication with the atmosphere and the valve 39 controls a port 42 in communication with a cavity 43 in turn communicating with the bore of a nozzle 44 carried upon the upright 6 and directed into a space in the atomising chamber above the bafile l therein in the direction towards the outlet l4. As the pump 2 is swung about its pivot the bellows open and close and during the closing strokes force a copious supply of air to the nozzle 44, which issues therefrom as an air blast as hereinbefore referred to, operative to project the cloud of aerosol emerging from the atomising unit forwardly from the outlet 14 thereof.

Referring now to the embodiment of. the invention illustrated in Figures. 5 and 6, the machine of this embodiment is generally similar, in construction and manner of operation to that of Figures 1 and 2. The only essential difierenoes are as follow:

Firstly, the bellows is disposed below the atomising unit, being afiixed to a shelf 45 extending across the space between the two side members I, 8 and being interposed between this shelf and an' arm 46 on the barrel of the pump,

which arm, therefore, transmits the swinging movements of the pump to the bellows for the operation of the same. The bellows communicates with the air blast nozzle 44 by way of a pipe 41.

" Secondly, the air reservoir 9 is positioned at one'side of the structure comprisin the upright t and the two side members. g

'Thirdly, the pump is pivoted to the back of the said upright 6 instead of to the stand 4, although if desired, it may be pivoted thereto as in the other construction.

Fourthly, the stand is provided with wheels 48 at one end to facilitate its transportation across the floor. Here again, however, these may be omitted, if desired. Also, similar wheels may be provided in the machine-cf Figures 1 and 2,

if desired.

The foot-operated machine of Figure 7 comprises a compressed-air operated atomising unit I, a foot-operated air pump 49 supplying operating air thereto and a bellows 3 for producing tLire 50.

' ward) already stated herein. 7 .3 5 .It will also be understoodthat may be the same as that in the machine of Figures l and 2 and will, ther'efore,not' be repeated.

The air pump 49 is operated by a pedal 5| carried on the free-end of one arm of a'doublearmed lever 52' pivoted at 53 to the structure 50.

The other arm of the'lever 52 extends forwardly from the pivot and has the reciprocatable end membe'r afi of the bellows connected to it, the other end member '31 of the bellows being connected to a bracket-54 incorporated in the struc- The lever 52 is normally urged in a clockwise direction about its pivot 53'by a spring '55 and is moved in the reverse direction by footand comprises a barrel 56 in which works a piston 51 on a rod 58 pivoted at 59 to the lever 52 the barrel 56 being pivoted at 60 to a bracket 5 upstanding from the stand 4 and affixed thereto. At the inner end of the barrel 55 is a non-return outlet valve 62 similar to 'the' valve 340i the machine of Figures 1 and 2 and the air on passing this valve flows on to the atomising unit viaan air reservoir 9i The"air for-the air blastfiows' to the nozzle 44 viaapipe63.'

According to a possible modification, a largediameter short-stroke pistonand-barrel device may be used in place of a bellows in any ofthe machines of Figures 1 and 2,Figures 5 and 6 and Figure 7. One form" of 'such a device isillustrated in Figure B.

1 As there shown, the device, which is illustrated as employed in a machine otherwise in accordance with Figures S'and 6, comprises a barrel 54 in which"wor'ks' a piston 65 on a rod 66 pivoted at 6T tothe arm 46 on the air pump barrel and thestand of the machine.

'Thedevi'ce is single-acting and operates in the same manner as the conventional'forcepump, the upward (i e. outward) strokes being nonworking strokes, during whichair flows past the 'edge of the piston to the portion of the interior of the barrel beneath it, and"the'downward (instrokes being compression (working) strokes, during which theair flows out "of the barrel by way of an outlet'p'ort controlled by a non-return valve 'l2,which may be similar to the valve 34 of the air pump of themachine.

Itftvill be understood that "although details have been given in the foregoing description of certain embodiments of the invention, the scope blower. On the other hand, the formof these parts in the particularmachines described is generally speaking apreferred form forreasons the term .m anual means as used herein and'in the appended claims includes both'hand-operated means and ealso-foot-operatedmeans, in contrast-in either ilising the atmosphere and for like operations,

carried.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A portable self -contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufliciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; an air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation; said; pump being of the reciprocating piston-andbarrel type; means for mounting said pump for pivotal movement with respect to said stand; a blower connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle effective to project the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, and means common to the air pump and the blower for manually reciprocating the" piston within the pump and for rocking the pump about its pivotal mounting, said means being effective to operate said blower.

2. A portable self-contained apparatus for sterwhich comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufiiciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; a long-stroke handoperated piston-and-barrel type air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to supply the same'with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for swinging movement in a vertical plane as the pump is operated; and a blower having a reciprocating operative movement, connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle effective to projectthe aerosol forwardly into the surrounding atmosphere, said blower being arranged to be operated by the swinging movements of the air pump.

3. A portable self-contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufliciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; a long-stroke handoperated piston-and barrel type air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for'76 swinging movement in a vertical plane as the pump is operated; and a bellows connected to a discharge nozzleadjacent this outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of, an air blast from-the nozzle effective to project the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, said bellows beinginterposed between a stationary support therefor on the stand and the barrel of the air pump so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump. 2

4. A portable self-contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supplyv thereof in the apparatus, into anaerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of asize suflicientlylarge to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; a longstroke hand-operated piston-and-barrel type air pump connected to the atomisingunit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for swinging movement in a vertical plane as the pump is operated; and a bellows connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzleefi'ective to project the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, said bellows being interposed between a stationary support therefor on the stand and an arm on the barrel of the air pump so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump.

5. A portable self -contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufficiently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall through which the aerosol is discharged; a long-stroke hand-operated pistonand-barrel type air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as 4 to have a freedom for swinging movement ina vertical plane, variable at the will of the operator, as the pump is operated; and a blower having a reciprocatin operative movement, connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle effective to project-the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, said blower being arranged to be operated by the swinging movements of the air pump.

6. A portable self-contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, anenclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit-operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufliciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere'by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; a long-stroke hand-operated piston-and-barrel type air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to supply the same with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for swinging movement in a vertical plane, variable at the will of the operator, as the pump is operated; and a bellows connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply of air for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle effective to project the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, said bellows being interposed between a stationary support therefor on the stand and the barrel of the air pump so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump.

7. A portable self-contained apparatus for sterilising the atmosphere and for like operations, which comprises a stand and mounted thereon, an enclosed compressed-air operated atomising unit operative to convert a liquid, drawn from a supply thereof in the apparatus, into an aerosol and to deliver the latter, unaccompanied by droplets of a size sufliciently large to render it sensibly wet, into the surrounding atmosphere by way of an outlet in the wall of the unit; a long-stroke hand-operated piston-and-barrel type air pump connected to the atomising unit and operative to an supply the same with air for its operation, said air pump upstanding from the stand, handle uppermost, and being pivotally connected thereto at the lower end so as to have a freedom for swinging movement in a vertical plane, variable.

at the will of the operator, as the pump is operated; and a=bellows connected to a discharge nozzle adjacent the outlet and operative to deliver thereto a supply ofair for the formation of an air blast from the nozzle eifective toproject the aerosol forwardly from the outlet into the surrounding atmosphere, said bellows being interposed between a stationary support therefor on the stand and an arm, on the barrel of the air pump so as to be operated by the swinging movements of the pump.

8. An apparatus as specified in claim 1, wherein the means common to the air pump and the blower includes a pedal-operated lever pivoted to the stand.

9. An apparatus as specified in claim 1, wherein the means common to the air pump and the.

blower includes a handle for manual actuation of the pump and for effecting manual operation of said blower.

10. An apparatus as specified in claim 1, wherein the blower is a bellows and is expanded and compressed by the means which also actuates the pump.

VERNON ANTHONY TRIEIR. 

